I don't know about you, but I am always looking for different ways to get my students to respond to their in-class reading.  I like things where the kids can show what they know, but will also double as a bulletin board (because it is always nice to get a standards-based, rigorous bulletin board up there!)  But what I always end up doing is so story specific that I find I can't really use it with everything we read. So, with this last response to literature, I set out to change that.  And what did I do?  I made some really cool task cards for the kids to use! Since I wanted the students to think about the story elements that we have been studying (using my in 5 Days series ....that, on a side note, have been crazy helpful in getting my students to really understand fictional text) I made 7 different sets of cards, each with 4 prompts that deal with the various story elements.  The students then choose one of the cards, read the prompt, and respond to it using the story ...
I have not always been a "reader builder" in my classroom.  I mean, I did always read aloud to the students, but I was spotty at best when it came to getting reading in regularly.  Sometimes, because I *had* to get a bulletin board completed or because I *had* to finish that writing project, read aloud would just get sent to the wayside.  In fact, reading in general was sometimes sent packing (buries head in arms....ashamed) Source But that all changed about three years ago.  I was bound and determined to make reading a central focus in my room.  I figured if the kids liked to listen to me read, they would start to read themselves.  And, do you know what?  It worked. I can now say, with confidence, that I am building lifelong readers in my room.   Students actively discuss books with me.  They ask me daily when we will read either our read aloud or in class novel.  They LOOK FORWARD to it.  And then, when the book is done, they go out and get the next one in the serie...
In social studies, we are currently studying about early European Exploration of the New World.  To get the students researching and learning about the time period, I thought I would combine our computer lab time with something related to our social studies topic. I wanted something that my students could complete rather quickly (we only had a few sessions left in the computer lab) *and* would allow them to apply the lessons we have been learning about researching, parsing questions, and word processing skills such as changing the font and importing clip art.  When I went on an internet search and came across this fabulous {free} template for an Explorer Trading Card from Ginger Snaps . There are two different templates.  One is a static, prefilled topic one that you can use if you don't have computer access for the students.  The other one, however, is an editable power point that the students can actually type on! Once I found the template, I knew that this fit what I w...
Sometimes you stumble upon things quite accidentally or unwittingly that make a huge impact in the classroom.  This past week, one of those such things became stumbled upon.  During our computer lab time (thanks to the aide who runs the computer lab) we have been participating in the Hour of Code , a fantastic introduction to computer coding, from Code.org .  For a total of 45 minutes, my students sat mesmerized by the computer.  It was SILENT in the room as the students navigated the games on the screen, building code all the while. Now, if you are anything like me, you probably are a bit confused right now.  How on earth can 5th graders write computer code?  I mean, I can barely handle the html tags that I need to know to write this blog post (did I lose anyone there? ;) )  But the the people at Code.org have actually made it really easy for the students to work with the code.  On the screen, there is a little maze with Angry Birds or Plants and Zombies.  The kids have to get the...
In my class, the students have two sets of supplies -- individual and communal.  I find that having a set of shared items makes like easier for me and having some individual ones, makes like easier for them (which, in turn, makes life easier for me ;)) Each student has a pencil box with the essential items that they need.  Things like pencils, crayons, their Walking Classroom Walkit , the Classroom Procedure manual , and their reading book.  They also are allowed to keep scissors and a few other things that they may need, as long as the box doesn't overflow. The communal cubby, which is housed on the center desk in the group, has rulers, a tissue box, glue bottles, and extra crayons.  This is stuff that the entire table shares.  It is also things that don't get used all that often, so don't need a space in the box, but still need to be available to the kids. How do you manage your student supplies?  Do they have their own things or do they share everything?  ...
Creating holiday gifts for the parents of my 5th graders is probably the most stressful part of December for me.   I want them to have something that is really great and fun, but I also want it to take as little time as possible from the academics that we really do need to cover.  So this year, when a fantastic parent of mine volunteered to help with the project, I jumped on it! She had a great idea to create little ornaments out of pinecones.  She walked her neighborhood, found pinecones, and brought in a few for each student. The kids painted them either white or green, then decorated with sparkles, sequence, or other colors of paint.  They used tempra paint, so it was something we already had at school....and they came out AWESOME! Here are a few.  We then added a little ribbon hook and a sign that said "Happy Holidays 2014" or a more specific holiday greeting if they wished.  (I don't have pictures of that...sorry!) These took about a day to complete...